Vigil seeks justice for Ashland murder victim

From Jacksonville, Beardstown, Springfield, Petersburg and points in between, hundreds of people came to Ashland Tuesday night to remember Steven Watkins, nine months after he was gunned down at the home of his estranged wife and her family. There have been no arrests in the case.

By BRUCE RUSHTON

The State Journal-Register

By BRUCE RUSHTON

Posted Aug. 26, 2009 at 12:01 AM

By BRUCE RUSHTON
Posted Aug. 26, 2009 at 12:01 AM

ASHLAND

From Jacksonville, Beardstown, Springfield, Petersburg and points in between, hundreds of people came to Ashland Tuesday night to remember Steven Watkins, nine months after he was gunned down at the home of his estranged wife and her family.

Some knew him, some did not. But all said they were seeking justice in a case that began two days before Thanksgiving, when Watkins, 32, was gunned down from behind. He had gone to the home to pick up his youngest daughter Sidney for a court-ordered visit.

There have been no arrests.

Clutching a rose and a sign reading “Justice For Steven,” Alex Watkins, 9, did her best when a television reporter asked what she remembered most about her father. She blinked, started speaking in a barely audible voice and then broke down in sobs.

Organizers started with 300 candles. Just two remained on a picnic table at James Park when the crowd started the walk to the home of Ken and Shirley Skinner, grandparents of Watkins’ wife Jennifer, a few blocks away.

Bill Troxell of Ashland said the lack of charges has given his town a bad image.

“Nobody’s very happy about it,” Troxell said. “It’s been almost a year that somebody was murdered. We’re not getting any information from public officials.”

Kyra Taylor, Alex Watkins’ first-grade teacher, and Diane Sieving, who taught her in second grade, walked side by side. Most fathers don’t spend much time asking teachers about their kids, they said, but Steven Watkins was different.

“He was an amazing dad,” Sieving said. “I never had a dad like him.”

Luminaries lined the street as the procession neared the Skinner home. Neighbors, some holding candles, stood in driveways and porches, waving and offering encouragement.

Three cars were in the driveway and a light was on inside when the procession reached the Skinner home.

Jon Gray Noll, attorney for Shirley Skinner, said his client, “out of deference,”made it a point to be elsewhere.

Standing at the edge of the yard and driveway, the crowd released helium balloons with cards describing the slaying and urging whoever finds them to ask elected officials for justice.

The crowd left flowers, written prayers and photos of Steven Watkins. Several balloons tangled themselves in trees in the front yard.

“Wow—how many people are here?” asked Chris Chlarson of Jacksonville, who heard about the gathering on the radio and brought a video camera. “I thought, ‘I’m going to come here and see what this is all about.’”

As the crowd walked back toward the park in twos, threes and fours, neighbor Glenda Schleyhahn stood on her front porch shouting “Good job!”

Schleyhahn proclaimed the procession “wonderful,” but said she never thought one would be needed.